STELLLLLLLLA! Epic blizzard cripples Chittenden County

Best option: stay off the roads Tuesday and Wednesday in Vermont. But if you must, take is slow and give yourself and fellow drivers plenty of room.
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A motorist who wished not to be identified waits for a tow on Main Street in Burlington after getting stuck in a snow drift Tuesday night, March 14, 2017, as a winter blizzard turned what had been a mild March into a commuting hell.(Photo: RYAN MERCER/FREE PRESS)Buy Photo

It was one of those be-careful-what-you-wish-for moments for brother and sister Sean and Alicia Dorsey.

As the first blizzard to hit the Burlington area in a decade raged outside, they ensconced themselves Tuesday afternoon at the bar at The Farmhouse Tap & Grill in Burlington. They reflected on the irony of how snow and impassible roads ruined their ski trip.

"It was what we wanted," said Sean Dorsey, who like his sister lives in Massachusetts. "We came to Vermont for the snow."

Tuesday's storm stretching into Wednesday did more -- way more -- than scuttle the Dorseys' plans. Before the blizzard known as Stella ends Wednesday, the storm almost certainly will be one for the record books.

The first blizzard since February 2007 caused white-out conditions on Chittenden County roads and rare shut-downs of workplaces and schools throughout the region. The Farmhouse, where the Dorseys found refuge, was one of the few downtown Burlington eateries still open late Tuesday afternoon.

"The roads are barely passable and the wind is unrelenting," the Burlington Police Department wrote on Twitter just before 4 p.m. Tuesday. "Stay home and stay safe, please." Late Tuesday afternoon Burlington police urged drivers to stay off Vermont 127, also known as the Beltline, which had become "extremely slippery" with backed-up traffic.

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Vermonters woke up to more than two feet of snow Wednesday morning, March 15, 2017, courtesy of Winter Storm Stella.
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The Vermont State Emergency Operations Center issued a statement just after 4:30 p.m. Tuesday noting that at least five vehicles had slid off of Interstate 89 in Chittenden County in the early hours of the storm, with some drivers abandoning their cars on the side of impassable roads.

"The Vermont State Police advise that driving conditions on Interstate 89 & 91 are extremely difficult," the Emergency Operations Center statement read. "Drivers heading home from work are experiencing whiteout conditions with very low visibility."

In Colchester at about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, the wind was blowing so heavily out of the west off Malletts Bay that visibility on East Lakeshore Drive was nearly zero, with the snow so dense at points that it was difficult to see beyond the front of a vehicle. There was almost no snow accumulation in the portion of Bayside Park next to the water -- the wind had cleared the grass of the light, fluffy powder.

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Handicap and unable to walk, Gerald Bessette waits for anyone to help him after his car overheated Wednesday morning on North Winooski Ave. in Burlington. His car got stuck after he pulled over to let his car engine cool. Later, Free Press Visuals Coach Ryan Mercer filled his radiator with fluid and helped push him out with another Good Samaritan. Stella dumped more than a foot and a half of snow on the area since Tuesday.(Photo: RYAN MERCER/FREE PRESS)

The forecast calls up to 2 feet of snow to fall by Wednesday, with 8-10 inches of snow in an intensive six-hour forecast to last from 2-8 p.m. Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service office at Burlington International Airport in South Burlington.

Jessica Neiles, a meteorologist at the Burlington office, said the weather service expects nearly 20 inches at the airport by storm's end Wednesday. That would make the blizzard the fourth-heaviest March snowstorm on record and rank it in the top 10 overall biggest storms, Neiles said.

"It's a pretty special storm," she said. The National Weather Service reported that 14.4 inches had fallen by 7 p.m. Tuesday.

All commercial flights were cancelled Tuesday at Burlington International Airport, inbound and outbound, according to operations foreman Doug Wood. Gov. Phil Scott noted in a midday statement that Vermont was under a statewide winter storm warming and a blizzard warning for the western edge of Vermont through much of the day Wednesday, with snowfall forecast of up to 2 feet.

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Jane Bensimhon and her daughter Hava, 1 1/2, brace the outdoors of the OLd North End in Burlington Wednesday morning, March 15, 2017, after Stella dumped more than two feet of snow on Vermont.
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Neighborhood kids in the Bay Creek development in Colchester play lacrosse on a deserted street Wednesday, March 15, 2017, in a snowstorm that dumped more than 2 feet of accumulation across Vermont.
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A fire hydrant barely peeks out of a deep snow drift in Colchester on Wednesday, March 15, 2017, as snow continues to fall from a storm that dumped more than 2 feet of accumulation across Vermont.
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Neighborhood kids in the Bay Creek development in Colchester play lacrosse on a deserted street Wednesday, March 15, 2017, in a snowstorm that dumped more than 2 feet of accumulation across Vermont.
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A man walks in the middle of deserted, freshly plowed Stone Drive in Colchester on Wednesday, March 15, 2017, as snow continues to fall from a storm that dumped more than 2 feet of accumulation across Vermont.
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A sidewalk plow, colloquially known as the BTV Snow Dragon, clears pedestrian pathways at the corner of Pearl and Elmwood around noon on Wednesday, March 15 as the city begins to dig out after Winter Storm Stella
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A woman walks her dog while a neighbor shovels snow in their Colchester neighborhood on Wednesday morning, March 15, 2017, as a blizzard continued dumping more than 2 feet of snow across Vermont.
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Jared Thatcher, 14, left, and Jackson Solomon, 13, walk through their Colchester neighborhood on Wednesday morning, March 15, 2017, as a blizzard continued dumping more than 2 feet of snow across Vermont.
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A car that parked in a clear driveway Tuesday night in Colchester sits buried in snow Wednesday morning, March 15, 2017, as a blizzard continued dumping more than 2 feet of snow across Vermont.
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John Thatcher, from left, works with his son, Jared Thatcher, 14, and neighbor Jackson Solomon, 13, to shovel the driveway in Colchester on Wednesday morning, March 15, 2017, as a blizzard continued dumping more than 2 feet of snow across Vermont.
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Dave Taft of South Burlington shovels the walk outside his home on Wednesday morning as snow continues to fall. He said he hoped he was making piles in the right place to avoid snowdrifts later.
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Right, Brendan Barney of Burlington gave up and left his car at Richmond Park and Ride, coming back Wednesday morning, March 15, 2017, to dig it out after Stella dumped more than two feet of snow.
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A woman who wished not to be identified camps out on South Park Street in Colchester Wednesday morning, March 15, 2017, in hopes of pan handling. She said that, so far, few had driven by but she would wait it out. Stella dumped more than two feet of snow on Vermont since Tuesday.
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Handicap and unable to walk, Gerald Bessette waits for anyone to help him after his car overheated Wednesday morning on North Winooski Ave. in Burlington. His car got stuck after he pulled over to let his car engine cool. Later, Free Press Visuals Coach Ryan Mercer filled his radiator with fluid and helped push him out with another Good Samaritan. Stella dumped more than a foot and a half of snow on the area since Tuesday.
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Right, Brendan Barney of Burlington gave up and left his car at Richmond Park and Ride, coming back Wednesday morning, March 15, 2017, to dig it out after Stella dumped more than two feet of snow.
RYAN MERCER/FREE PRESS

Handicap and unable to walk, Gerald Bessette waits for anyone to help him after his car overheated Wednesday morning on North Winooski Ave. in Burlington. His car got stuck after he pulled over to let his car engine cool. Later, Free Press Visuals Coach Ryan Mercer filled his radiator with fluid and helped push him out with another Good Samaritan. Stella dumped more than a foot and a half of snow on the area since Tuesday.
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A motorist who wished not to be identified waits for a tow on Main Street in Burlington after getting stuck in a snow drift Tuesday night, March 14, 2017, as a winter blizzard turned what had been a mild March into a commuting hell.
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Good Samaritans try to push a delivery van from the parking lot of the Shell station on US 2&7 in Colchester on Tuesday, March 14, 2017. Road conditions were going from bad to worse across Vermont as a winter blizzard dumped heavy snow across New England.
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Motorists get out to clear ice from the windshields while waiting on US 2&7 in Colchester after numerous slide offs and stuck vehicles brought Road to a stand still Tuesday, March 14, 2017.
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Motorists get out to clear ice from the windshields while waiting on US 2&7 in Colchester after numerous slide offs and stuck vehicles brought Road to a stand still Tuesday, March 14, 2017.
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From left, Andrew Lesage and his son Christopher dig out their driveway off South Willard Street in Burlington, Vt., Wednesday morning, March 15, 2017, after Stella dumped more than a foot and a half of snow on the region.
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Scott Olmstead clears the sidewalk in front of The Farmhouse Tap & Grill on Bank Street in Burlington during the blizzard. Many businesses closed early due to the storm, but Olmstead said the restaurant will remain open "as long as people are walking through the door."
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Chris LaPlante of St. Albans picks the ice off his windshield wipers Tuesday afternoon, March 14, 2017, at the Maplefields off I89 in Georgia, Vt., on his way home from work. Early tomorrow morning, he'll brace the blizzard to head back to work.
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John Madden of Shelburne waits for his ski buddy Wednesday morning, March 15, 2017. With Stella still dumping snow throughout Vermont, Madden was heading to Sugarbush Resort with his two daughters.
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A motorist who wished not to be identified waits for a tow on Main Street in Burlington after getting stuck in a snow drift Tuesday night, March 14, 2017, as a winter blizzard turned what had been a mild March into a commuting hell.
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Meteorologist Robert Deal said a blizzard warning means frequent wind gusts of up to 35 mph, and visibility of less than a quarter-mile for three consecutive hours because of falling or blowing snow. The blizzard warning was issued for 7 a.m. Tuesday to 11 a.m. Wednesday.

Neiles, his fellow meteorologist, said Tuesday afternoon that the National Weather Service expected 19.8 inches from the blizzard, which would rank it behind only storms in 2011 (25.8 inches), 2001 (22.9 inches) and 1993 (22.4 inches) in terms of total snowfall. The 1993 and 2007 storms are the two most-recent blizzard warnings, Neiles said.

The expected snowfall would bring Burlington over 80 inches for the winter, close to the average of about 81 inches, Neiles said. "It would bring us to normal for the whole season, and the season's not over. And it looks like we could get more snow this weekend," she said, adding that snow this weekend wouldn't be nearly as significant as the Tuesday-into-Wednesday storm.

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The Stella blizzard is on track to be the second biggest storm ever for Burlington, according to the National Weather Service. Reporter Joel Banner Baird jumps in the snow and offers storm survival advice.

Burlington put a parking ban into effect beginning 10 p.m. Tuesday until 7 a.m. Wednesday. Area schools were closed Tuesday, including those in the Chittenden South Supervisory Union, Chittenden Central Supervisory Union, Mount Mansfield Modified Union School District/CESU and South Burlington School District.

The University of Vermont is closed until 6 a.m. Thursday. Champlain College also announced its campus would remain shuttered Wednesday. Federal courts were closed Tuesday, and many state and municipal workers were sent home early.

Mark Bosma, public information officer for Vermont Emergency Management, urged everyone to check heating vents on the outside of their houses as the snow piles up to make sure the vents are clear and that the carbon monoxide from heaters is getting out.

In Colchester, the blizzard won residents an extra 24 hours to pay their property taxes. The new deadline is midnight Thursday. The town's winter parking ban was extended to 6 a.m. Friday.

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Colchester Police Officer Chris Jones watches as a trucker tried in vain to clear his tires in hope of gaining traction after getting stuck on South Park Street Wednesday morning, March 15, 2017. It didn't work. Stella dumped more than two feet of snow on Vermont since Tuesday.(Photo: RYAN MERCER/FREE PRESS)

At Green Mountain Power, spokeswoman Kristin Carlson struck a relatively optimistic note, saying the utility was not expecting a lot of high winds or wet, heavy snow from the storm.

"Those are the conditions that create outages," Carlson said. "If the wind stays around 35 to 40 mph, and the snow stays light and fluffy, we are only expecting scattered outages."

Some were out enjoying the freakish weather Tuesday afternoon. Kylie Spiegel's classes at the Community College of Vermont were canceled, so the Burlington woman went for a walk with Sam Long-Middleton of Grand Isle. They were strolling on otherwise-desolate Church Street just after 3 p.m. Tuesday after walking to the Lake Champlain waterfront, spending time at ECHO, Leahy Center for Lake Champlain and enjoying a meal at American Flatbread.

"We just wanted to get outside, see the weather," Long-Middleton said.

The storm worsened over the next hour, with the wind and snow swirling from all directions. Church Street businesses were closing, and the only sounds came from ever-present snowplows.

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No wear near a ski slope, Stephen Scuderi of Winooski makes his way home as a winter blizzard burrows Vermont Tuesday, March 14, 2017.(Photo: RYAN MERCER/FREE PRESS)

Kyle Dodson of Burlington, president and CEO of the Greater Burlington YMCA, had just completed a business meeting over hamburgers at the Church Street Tavern when the eatery closed because of the weather at 4 p.m. Tuesday. Dodson, who has lived in Burlington since the early 1990s, said it's rare for the city to shut down so thoroughly. He said the Y normally closes only on Thanksgiving and Christmas but shut down Tuesday afternoon.

"My car is up at the Y lot," Dodson said, noting that he has four-wheel drive but no snow tires. "I have no idea what that looks like."

Back at The Farmhouse Tap & Grill, the Dorseys pondered what to do Wednesday. Alicia Dorsey, who attended the University of Vermont, said they're thinking about skiing close to Burlington at Bolton Valley, or the siblings might tour the breweries on Pine Street. Sean Dorsey indicated the latter activity might win out.